The theme of this episode of The Monochrome Chronicles devolves from my many hours of riding the trains in Tokyo. Back in NYC, I used to photograph on the subways, but mainly to counter the boredom of my daily commute. This series about passengers on the trains in Tokyo has a distinctly different focus. Tokyo was new territory for me and photography was a means of exploration.
One immediate difference was the noise level in the trains. Passengers in Tokyo are quiet. Those travelling alone seem to create their own personal space. Those travelling together usually remain quiet or, if they do talk, it is in hushed voices. What a contrast to the subways back in NYC. Cacophony, both from the racket of the trains and from the boisterous banter of the riders, was the modus vivendi there.
Other differences emerged. Trains in Tokyo are safe. The platforms and the cars are clean. These are obvious differences. Less obvious are the customs and behavior of the passengers, which are the focus of my photographic series.
Just as a side comment: my series in NYC focused specifically on the metropolitan subway system, whereas the system in Tokyo is more complicated, comprising both a subway system and the metropolitan train systems. For convenience, I use the term “trains” to encompass both the subway system and the trains, which in many instances are indistinguishable.
I know that I shouldn’t editorialize this way, but this is one of my favorite images I’ve taken on the train. The man’s facial expression and the gestures of each hand say so much. The composition is wanky and the focus is poor – but I don’t care. I like it.
This woman, dressed in kimono, seemed to be so proper and so carefully styled – kimono, hair, handbag, hands. Her eyes were closed but no doubt she was not asleep. What was she thinking about?
Ganguro are young Japanese women, misfits who have left school and still live with their parents. With no means of support, they live from day to day without rules.
This man and a friend were riding the Hibiya line subway one afternoon, drinking beer and chatting. Slowly, ever so slowly, he slouched over and passed out. His friend seemed to be unconcerned about this. By coincidence, his friend and I exited the train at the same station. He looked at me, then at his passed-out friend, and back to me, then just shrugged his shoulders and walked away.
This young man looked so intent. What was he reading? The sweet potential of youth about to bloom into adulthood.
A young guy on the Yamanote line train. The morning sun streaming through the windows sweeps across his shirt. It imparts a peaceful feeling to the image.
Public display of affection is not common in Japan. Here their body language tells the story.
Obviously these two were a couple. She was enjoying their physical intimacy but he was feigning indifference.
The trains are not without episodes of drama. Especially on Friday night’s last trains at 1:00AM, drunken salarymen abound, heading home after several hours of heavy drinking at the pubs with colleagues. Some fall asleep and the train crew wake them up when the train reaches the last stop. Sometimes, rarely but sometimes, a passenger slips into an inebriated stupor – requiring emergency treatment from the train staff and EMTs. Just another Friday night on the last train.
My observation of passengers extends to those on the platform as well as those inside the cars. Boarding and exiting from crowded cars requires special skills. When the cars are crowded, passengers board the train backwards. Maybe this is a more impersonal practice.
People waiting on the platform stand aside to allow passengers to get off the train. Passengers remain silent and orderly, with no jostling for space.
In a lighter mood. This guy was sleeping on the train platform in the middle of Saturday afternoon. The bench was too narrow to sleep there comfortably, so he had to hold on with one hand and his opposite foot. How could someone sleep with all the noise of the trains and the announcements?
Trains in Tokyo suspend service between 1:00 and 5:30AM, resulting in scenes of drama as passengers scramble for the last train, especially on Friday evenings. Some of them fail to catch the last train. This woman fell asleep on her way to the stairwell. Her friend continued walking down the stairs while she called out a weary “Sa-yo-na-ra.”
The loneliness of the last train and first train. Was it Friday night or Saturday morning? The woman in the advertisement seemed to be looking at the young woman standing by the stairwell. Was she alone? Was she waiting for someone? Had someone just departed, leaving her all alone?
This episode of The Monochrome Chronicles has focused on the passengers, rather than either the cars or the platforms. Nonetheless, these three images create a suitable ending for the episode, I think. The absence of passengers in these three serves to counterbalance the focus on people in the rest of the series.
The title of this episode, “Passengers on the Train,” is admittedly broad and even ambiguous. The photographs are from the early years after I moved to Tokyo in late 2003. As was my usual practice, I carried my camera every day, including my time on the train. This was part of my exploration of Japanese culture. The subjects were anonymous so I could focus on their behavior. Gradually the context emerged. After about two years of living in Tokyo, I ceased thinking of the passengers as Japanese people. They were just passengers on the train.